AEDOLIS > The Rest of Aedolis

The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]

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Lion:
On the rare occasion that he got to spend time with his mother, this was the first time he got to share her with someone that wasn't one of her friends. He wasn't exactly upset, but at least that person was Andy, and despite the fact that he felt like he was walking on glass around her, this was all around a good time.  And like any good mother, Amitra was making good on her duty to embarrass him.

Theo was lounging beside his mother in the chair opposite Andy, and occasionally he spied her looking over to him. He was flushed from alcohol already, but still had some awareness too him. Enough to turn beet red even under his tan when Amitra showed Andy photos of him as a baby escaping from the bathtub.

Then there was the Yule Festival where he was dressed up as a slice of sweet potato pie. He was grinning like an idiot and the little dollop of whipped cream beside him, holding his head, was his little sister, Olivia.

"Gosh, Theo and Olive just before he went off to candidacy. You were how old?"

"Fifteen, I think. Shit, that's a long time," Theo muttered as he leaned across to examine the picture. "Wow, Olive must be five years old then."

It was a precious photo, each of them with small hats and chinstraps around them. Theo felt his eyes grow hot, looking at the picture of the little sister he hadn't seen in years.

"That makes her eighteen this year," Amitra sighed. "They grow up so fast. I told your father that she ought to have a chance to experience the world, but you know how your father is. Wants her to grow up, get married. He's already got a suitor lined up and everything."

Theo grit his teeth. "That's some bullshit! She's too young to get married! He knows that."

"Like your father gives a damn what anyone else wants. All that matters to him is family prestige, keeping the line strong and all that."

Theo set the glass down and stood up. "Why didn't you take her with you?"  It was a pointed question and he was already angry. He didn't want to blame his mother, but he already felt like crying.

"I tried to, Theo. I did everything I could! Like I wanted to leave my daughter with that horrible excuse for a man. Hell no! But your father had the case rigged from the start. He hated you, and he was more than happy to see me leave. But he'd be damned if he was going to lose all his pawns." Amitra fell quiet and closed the picture book gently.

She peered up at Andy and frowned, contrite. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Theo was quiet

Cheesigator:
[TW: sexual abuse, child abuse, r*pe]


When the baby pictures came out Andy was utterly fascinated by them. People did that? Took photos of their kids? How peculiar.

She studied each one curiously and listened intently as the conversation shifted to embarrassing stories of Theo's childhood, and she smirked whenever she peered over and caught him flushing a deep red. Cute.

She didn't usually find things or people cute but... He was cute. As an adult, not a child--children were not at all her cup of tea.

As Olive turned up though Andy found herself blinking owlishly between the two of them as the conversation suddenly turned heated; first of all she'd had no idea that Theo had a younger sibling (not that she'd ever cared to ask really) but second it seemed as if something wasn't quite right.

"... Wants her to grow up, get married. He's already got a suitor lined up and everything."

There was a sudden pain around her wrist and when she glanced down for a second she saw her father's hand clutching her little arm so hard it was turning red. She'd been younger than 18, she was still just a kid.

The room felt like it had dropped several degrees as her body broke out into a cold sweat. It was hard to repress the memories and the raising voices around her didn't help; she remembered being pressed painfully down into the sheets, she remembered the tears in her eyes and her choked up screams and pleas to make it stop. She hadn't even noticed that she had accidentally dropped the photo she'd been holding, her brows knotted and her face pale like she'd seen a ghost.

Gods, this country was the worst. Abysmal. She felt the burning hatred coiling up inside of her right next to the residual fear and pain; the cold sweat made her shiver but deep down inside she was flaming hot.

"... you had to hear that."

It took Andy a few moments to realize that she was clenching her fists, and she quickly took in a breath and released them, tiny crescent moons dug into her palms and fresh blood under the tips of her finger nails.

"Oh, no, it's okay. It happens, families are like that." She passed off a fake chuckle as she stood up, tucking some strands of hair behind her pointed ears and smoothing her dress, hoping they wouldn't notice her hands. "I actually should get going though, I've already taken up too much of your time--my PR agent will kill me if I'm late for the next photoshoot. It was lovely to meet you, Amitra, thanks for inviting me."



She made her exit quick and called a cab, biting on one of her nails as she sat with her legs crossed at the knee in the back seat, the flames in her burning as she scrolled viciously through her comm set for something to distract her, but nothing could.

All she could think about was the sweet little girl smiling up at her from the photo she'd held, and the pain she'd felt when her own betrothed had forced her into bed.

She started to dig, searching and searching online to find whatever information she could. Turns out Theo's dad was a bit of a rich hotshot, he popped up in a few articles and the name looked familiar. She was pretty sure her own father had done business with him before. That made her nearly break her fingernail.

She smirked when she found a particular article, and let out a dark chuckle as the car went speeding off towards her apartment.

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